Obama admits leadership failures

President Barack Obama acknowledged a series of errors since taking office, admitting that he misjudged the pace of the economic recovery, that he has sometimes strayed from his campaign promise to change the tone of debate in Washington, and that leadership “isn’t just legislation.”

“We were so busy and so focused on getting a bunch of stuff done that we stopped paying attention to the fact that, yeah, leadership isn’t just legislation, that it’s a matter of persuading people and giving them confidence and bringing them together, and setting a tone,” Obama said in an interview conducted Thursday for airing Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” “We haven’t always been successful at that, and I take personal responsibility for that. And it’s something that I have to examine carefully as I go forward.”

Story Continued Below

While Obama stopped short of expressing public regrets about specific policy decisions, he continued the tone of contrition that he set in a televised news conference the day after Tuesday’s midterm elections saw Republicans recapture the House and narrow the Democratic majority in the Senate.

“Part of my promise to the American people when I was elected was to maintain the kind of tone that says we can disagree without being disagreeable. And I think over the course of two years, there have been times where I’ve slipped on that commitment,” the president said. He did not appear to offer specifics.

Asked by correspondent Steve Kroft if it were true, as Republicans have suggested, that the election was a referendum on him and the Democratic Party, Obama replied: “I think first and foremost, it was a referendum on the economy. And the party in power was held responsible for an economy that is still underperforming and where a lot of folks are still hurting.

He acknowledged that he thought the economy would have improved more and that he sometimes feels powerless when it comes to spurring growth.

“I do get discouraged, I mean, there are times where I thought the economy would [have] gotten better by now,” Obama said. “As president… you’re held responsible for everything. But you don't always have control of everything. Especially an economy this big— there are limited tools to encourage— the kind of job growth that we need,” he said, quickly adding that he was “positive” that the U.S. economy will eventually rebound.

Obama conceded his drive for financial regulatory reform and some his stimulus efforts have caused business leaders to view him and his administration warily.

“There's no doubt that the relationship with the business community over the course of the last two years at times has gotten strained,” Obama said. “And, so, I think that we've got some repair work to do there.”

Obama said he has no desire to intrude further into the business sector, but that recent moves in that direction were necessitated by what he called “exceptional circumstances.”

“My overarching philosophy is not one in which we have constantly increasing government intervention,” the president said.

Obama also used the interview to signal interest in a possible deal with Republicans that could extend Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year.